My roommate (literally who shares a room with me LOL) bought 2 pet rats about 7 months ago, both females. Their cage is in the bedroom and we usually let them out for 30 min twice a day to play. For the longest time they were just fine. they were fun to play with and so cute. Now he left for a summer job and won't be back for 2 months and since he left, they've both started chewing on everything they can find. Paper and what not isn't a big deal but they're starting to chew on electrical cords and speaker wire and totally destroyed my cel phone charger. Any suggestions on how to stop this behavior? i read about a product called "Bitter Apple" and picked some up today and it didn't work for more than 5 minutes and they were back at it again. HELP! I'm close to breaking down!
Answers:
chew toys can help
lol lol lol lol lol lol lol lol lol lol I'm not saying its funny that your going crazy I'm saying that and laughing because how you said that was funny. ....sorry !!
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there is some spray you can get at pet stores that is odorless and it makes things taste VERY bitter to rodents, just spray it on anything you dont want them to chew on, and be sure to give them lots of alternatives to chew on (wood block, mineral block, chew toys, etc.) and soak them in flavored juice to encourage your rats to chew on them.
Once rats have decided to start chewing on things, it's really hard to stop them...
Bitter Apple was a good idea, but as you found out, usually doesn't work with rats...
Everytime you see them chewing on something that they aren't supposed to, pick them up and in a firm voice say NO! put them back into thier cage...
If you do this EVERYTIME they should get the hint and stop chewing on power cords...ect.
The best thing you can do for them is make a "rat safe" play area.since you have them in a room it's going to be hard to do with a limited amount of space...
Try letting them run around on the bed or if you have a coach, keep them on there to play...( it helps if they are potty trained. )
Give them things to play with on the bed that they don't have in their cage, like a digging box...
This way they can't get into any trouble...
My entire living room is "rat safe", I let them play for an hour or two every few days out there...other than that they play on my bed...
I hope this helps...GOOD LUCK!
I think you're fighting nature and nature ALWAYS wins.
The rats are upset at your roommate leaving and until they regain their good dispositions, you are better off keeping the rats away from things that they can ruin or that will hurt them. Don't give them the run of the place, but put them someplace where they can't damage things. My son lets his rat exercise on the couch, which is covered with a sheet for these sessions. The rat doesn't try to jump off, but can wander the length of the piece and can play with larger toys than fit into his cage.
Good luck to you and the ratties.
rodents like to chew - it makes their teeth feel better.
there is spray at pet stores (like the bitter apple you have) that you can put on the things you don't want them to chew - but that doesn't always work as it can wear off. give them lots of alternatives for them to chew on (little wooden toys, chew sticks, etc).
also, if you want them to stop chewing on electrical cords, you can get plastic tubing at computer/tv/electronic stores that keeps them from chewing on the cords themselves.
rat proof the house. put all your cords in plastic pipes and make sure that what you can't hide is out of their reach. it's like having a young child in the house.
Chewing is a natural behavior for rodents! Don't try to train it out of them.
Chewing electrical cords and cell phone chargers is very dangerous and can electrocute them to the point of paralysis and/or death. Rat-proof the room before you let them out to play; remove or cover all electical cords and wires within reach, cover all spaces that you do not want them crawling through/getting stuck in, etc.
Good luck!
i am a ret breeder and one of the first higsyou learn is rats are chewers expecialy female, it is a natueal nesting procces and they also chew harder thigs to keep their teeth short or elsethe will get so long they will bite their own brain from the roof of their mouth. try going to the dollar store and picking up a bunch of wooden spoons. drop one in the tank for them to chew on and relace it when it gets to small or soaks up too much urine. after a couple of months you should be able to keep a spoon out with them when they are out and they will be more inclined to chew on that, but allways keep in mind that even if they never get pregnent they have natural maternal instincs to build a comfy nest(paper cloth, string,..)
Rats are great pets, they're intelligent, affectionate, and loyal. However, they tend to be on the destructive side. Some rats will chew up anything they can get their little paws on, and your rats seem to be no exception.
Rats will be rats. You can't really stop their behavior, or train a rat to stop chewing stuff. It's in their natural instincts. One part of owning a pet is accepting him/her for who he/she is.
Instead of trying to alter your rats' behavior, you should rat-proof your house. Keep electrical wires, hazardous materials, and anything you don't want to lose out of their reach. Some people even set up a "rat room" which is 100% rat-proofed, and keep the rest of the house off-limits for play. Personally, I wouldn't go this far unless I had a large number of rats and a lot of space, which is why the "rat-room" method is mostly used by breeders.
When you let your rats out to play, DO NOT, under any circumstances, leave them by themselves. Always make sure they are supervised, so you can quickly redirect them if they start to destroy something valuable, or get themselves into a dangerous situation (such as placing their paws in an outlet, chewing cables, ect.) Also, try giving them some rat-friendly chew-toys/sticks/blocks/ect. from the petstore. They may still want to chew on your stereo, but it will at least give them a safe and acceptable way to express their ratty instincts without damaging your electronics. ;)
I wish the best of luck to you and your furry friends.
Yep. Just watch them when they are out and rat proof your place. Our rat didn't chew much when she was out because we were always holding her or watching her and we'd just move her if she chewed, or move the object she was chewing. However in her wire cage if ANYTHING was left to close (my daughter kept her beside her bed in the wire cage) it was fair game. We own several sheets, comforters, even a jacket that has suspicious little holes or worse in them. --I have had fits telling the kids not to put anything on top of her cage as she will chew it. She is gone now but we still have the chewed up stuff to remind us of her--she died from surgery to remove a tumor that we let go too long. very sad If you're rats ever develop a tumor take them in to remove it ASAP. They are often very operable--we waited too long and she had lost weight and just couldn't pull thru.
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